How Far Should Western Hemispheric Free Trade Go? You Be the Judge.

The concept of free trade areas can be traced back well into the 1800s, but the actual creation of free trade zones is a recent development. The European Economic Community was created in 1957 and has evolved from an initial group of six countries to the 15 members of what is now called the European Union. In 1986, the United States and Canada signed a free trade agreement and included Mexico in 1993 through the NAFTA agreement. And the possibility of a more broadly based Western hemispheric free trade zone has become more prominent with President George H.W. Bush's advocacy in 1990 of such a development.

The initial proposal intended to provide economic advancement for all participatory states. In particular, it was believed that a free trade zone would reduce states' international debt, increase trade and investment, and implicitly promote further democratization in the Western hemisphere. These views are still widely held about the impact of free trade and international trade theory also posits that everyone benefits from free trade. As discussed in the book, many others, however, argue that expanding free trade areas causes many problems, including job flight from developed countries to lesser developed countries, issues of unfair and unsafe working conditions, and also environmental problems as industries move to countries with weaker environmental laws.

Nonetheless, at the Summit of the Americas in 1994, 34 countries agreed to aim for the establishment of a hemispheric free trade zone within 10 years. The conference also led to an agreement for more than 100 specific programs and reforms regarding political, economic, and environmental issues. Although the Summit of the Americas agreements appear to be a first step toward the creation of what is tentatively called the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the free trade zone could conceivably develop from the merging of established regional common markets (such as Mercosur in South America) or through the addition of new states in existing regional trade zones (such as Chile to NAFTA).

In the questions below, you are asked to evaluate the logic of free trade and to decide just how far you think the expansion of free trade should go in the Western Hemisphere.

1		Trade liberalization will improve all domestic economies.
			A)	Agree
			B)	Disagree
			C)	Don't know
2		Trade liberalization will lead to the promotion of workers' rights.
			A)	Agree
			B)	Disagree
			C)	Don't know
3		Trade liberalization will benefit small, less developed countries.
			A)	Agree
			B)	Disagree
			C)	Don't know
4		A hemispheric free trade zone will benefit small businesses.
			A)	Agree
			B)	Disagree
			C)	Don't know
5		A hemispheric free trade zone will not threaten environment quality in the region.
			A)	Agree
			B)	Disagree
			C)	Don't know
6		A hemispheric free trade zone will not threaten the jobs of workers in developed countries.
			A)	Agree
			B)	Disagree
			C)	Don't know
7		Are existing regional trade common markets preferable to one larger hemispheric trade zone?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
			C)	Don't know
8		Does the expansion of regional free trade areas increase or decrease the likelihood of the expansion of free trade around the globe?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
			C)	Don't know
9		Will hemispheric free trade lead to greater regional cooperation?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
			C)	Don't know
10		Will hemispheric free trade lead to greater global cooperation?
			A)	Yes
			B)	No
			C)	Don't know
11		Is the goal of a ten year time frame to create a hemispheric free trade zone plausible?
			A)	Too fast
			B)	Too slow
			C)	Plausible time frame
			D)	Don't know